MAY 13, 1999

LL COOL J'S COUSIN ARRESTED IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD 100 FAMILIES BY WRONGLY USING HIS NAME IN SUMMER CAMP SCAM

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the arrest of the cousin of rap artist LL Cool J on charges of stealing $6,000 from the families of 125 Queens children by falsely asserting that the star would sponsor their children at summer camp if the parents registered them in the program and paid a $50 registration fee. The defendant is also charged with stealing two paychecks worth $500 from people with whom she worked.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Cynthia Cooper, 31, of 36 Angevine Avenue, Hempstead, New York. She is a cousin of rap star LL Cool J and worked for him as a manager at his companies, LL Cool J Inc. and Rock the Bells Productions, until she was fired in late 1998. She is charged with scheme to defraud, possession of forged instruments and petit larceny. She faces up to seven years in prison upon conviction.

District Attorney Brown said, "For several years LL Cool J has generously paid summer camp tuition for 100 Queens children, affording the children a good deal of fun and their families a good deal of peace. This year Mr. LL decided to discontinue the camp program in favor of a program aimed at benefitting high school students, a decision of which the defendant was allegedly well aware. Nevertheless, trading on her cousin's good name in the community, the defendant allegedly opted to run her own "program" for the benefit of herself."

According to the charges during the months of March and April, the defendant distributed "Camp Cool J" flyers advertising the program and collected $50 registration fees for 125 children. She then allegedly opened a bank account in the name of Camp Cool J Foundation, deposited the registration checks in the account and withdrew the money when the checks cleared. She is also charged with stealing $500 from a former co-worker by forging their signatures on the back of their pay checks and depositing the checks in her own account.

The defendant was arrested this morning by detectives of the Police Department's Intelligence Division, which is under the supervision of Inspector Daniel Oates, and Detective Bari Moody of the Queens District Attorney's Office Squad, which is under the command of Captain Harold J. Knorr.

Assistant District Attorney Diane Peress of District Attorney Brown's Economic Crime Bureau under the supervision of Michael J. Mansfield and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney Robert D. Alexander is in charge of the case.

It should be noted that an arrest is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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